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Mating Cell-Cell Channels in Conjugating Bacteria

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Cell-Cell Channels

Abstract

Conjugative plasmid transfer is the most important mechanism for bacteria to deliver and acquire genetic information to cope with rapidly changing environmental conditions. To transfer genetic information intercellularly mating cell-cell channels between donor and recipient bacteria have to be established. For plasmid transfer in Gram-negative bacteria, subassemblies of these mating channels have been discovered, the order in which the transferred DNA contacts the transporter proteins has been determined and crystal structures of key components of the so-called conjugative type IV secretion systems have been solved. In contrast to this, knowledge on conjugative plasmid transfer of sex pheromone-inducible plasmids in Enterococcus faecalis is limited to molecular details on the complex regulation processes whereas for broad-host-range plasmids from Gram-positive bacteria investigations on the structure of the conjugative transfer apparatus and the interplay of the secretion components have recendy started. The following chapter has the intention to give an overview of the state of the art on conjugative plasmid transfer in Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

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  1. Department of Environmental Microbiology, University of Technology Berlin, FR1-2, Franklinstrasse 28/29, D-10587, Berlin, Germany

    Elisabeth Grohmann

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Grohmann, E. (2006). Mating Cell-Cell Channels in Conjugating Bacteria. In: Cell-Cell Channels. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-46957-7_2

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